B16 Will

I know this isnt the impreza forum, but passion ford is full of knowlegable bods !!
Anyone know much about the P1 ? Any good ? I dont even know what kind of power they run etc, i love the styleing, wheels, stance, might even get me one but dont want to buy a shed, ive herd so many stories of people buying them, then haveing the bottom end shit itself a week later.
Any info apreciated

TIFF

Staffi is your man for Subaru's on here.....

Alan_D

The P1 uses a jap Sti engine, with the ECU slightly tweeked for UK petrol. The only problem is they didn't tweek it enough. Most P1s have had an engine rebuild at some stage because of this.

Standard they will be around 280bhp. You ideally want to get one that's been either remapped pretty much from new(negating the ECU issue), or buy one with a rebuild which has been mapped. One running in standard form would not interest me in the slightest, as it's an engine failure waiting to happen.

Rs(555)

iTrader: (8)

my mate had onerunning stainless exhaust system and remap .....went like fook and handled awsomei think alot of them went bang around 60k???? dont know why ,but lots of them have had rebuilds....out of the box they are a brilliant car ,and will hold there value due to how rare they arego try one ,i would have one tomorrow and ive had loads of cosworths,subarus etc etc

B16 Will

Hmmm, the mrs isnt impressed now. Im pretty sure im going to hunt one down now.

P412KER

I had one not long ago was am awesome car, but like most have mentioned make sure its had its engine re-built and mapped correctly, and try and find one with the upgraded alcon brakes.

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

chocolate pistons. I dont mind this imprezas.

KSA-Cossie

iTrader: (4)

I'd rather have a v5/6 type-r.

vroooom ptssssh

Wouldnt trust a subaru bottom end (i.e. bearings/crank) as far as I could throw them, i'd be even more worried if it had just been rebuilt as it could fail anytime...if it had done 100,000 miles i'd have more confidence in it !!

love the P1's and 22b's tho

Alan_D

Load of shite.

KSA talks sense. Can't see any reason to buy the P1 instead really, other than the fact it's a limited edition. You'd be buying for the badge. Better just finding a nice enthusiast owned Sti.

Alan_D

They aren't anything like the horror stories people talk about. 99% of those stories are because of people who've messed with them who have a low attention to detail and consequently cock things up!

Again it would surely depend who had rebuilt it? If it was a company with a reputation for perfection etc, and mapped by one of the top mappers, wouldn't that be better than one that's had bolt-on mods etc without a remap, and has luckily managed to hold together for tens of thousands of miles?

vroooom ptssssh

In any other circumstance i'd say you were probably correct! But seeing what I have, I have no faith in them AT ALL no matter who rebuilt them!

One example...guy buys brand new bottom end from SUBARU, fits it into car, drives it to run it in for 2K miles, first time he boots it (standard car) the bottom end seizes! he was VERY perticular with this engine as he blew up the last engine and couldnt afford to do it 3 times!

example 2, well known subaru engine builder from this neck of the woods, builds them all day long, but 1 in say 20 engines, the bottom end seizes...he cant explain it, and nor can anyone else!

I dont believe it's anything to do with mapping or who's mapped it, its a bearing...mapping doesnt effect it!?

I've yet to find someone who has a reasonable explanation for why it happens on subaru's, i've 'heard' some people say its detonation related...but do you believe that? all I Know is I cant diss-regard it...

Paulo P

They are fantastic cars but good ones are hard to find and priced accordingly. A friend of mine bought one last year and we had to look around at quite a few before finding a decent one Bearing in mind they only made 1000 finding a good one isn't easy

Most of them will have had a new engine or a rebuild by now, my friend decided to buy a tidy well looked after example that hadn't had a rebuild and budgeted to do that at a later date, only 2 months or so later he did a compression test after trying to sort out a poor idle and found little or no compression on one cylinder That was caused by a bent valve though.

If you are still looking for one I would try and find one that has been looked after, good examples will hold their money all day long

The Prodrive map wasn't as good as it should have been so if you can it remapped for safety I would. A lot of imprezas also die from high speed runs because the air goes over the intercooler scoop instead of going through it I've heard of lots of P1 owners exceeding 150mph in theirs and they simply don't like it If you are planning on doing runs like that a front mount is highly recommended.

The Prodrive Alcon brake upgrade and 18"s are a good package so personally I would also look for one that has been fitted with those. The Subaru 4 pots aren't too bad but they aren't brilliant and for some reason the P1 came fitted with single pot rear calipers and not the twin pots You can upgrade to twin pots quite easily though

P1's drive very very well, they have a very close ratio box with a longer 5th gear so they cruise really well Imprezas are always a bit thirsty but if you are looking for an Impreza you aren't worried about fuel You must run them on either vpower or tesco 99 only though because they can detonate on 95 ron and that sends shockwaves down the conrods to the big end shells and knocks them out

Alan_D

Can't explain what you've mentioned in the first few paras as I've had no experience of anything like that.

There are a few reasons people talk about. On the classics, there is the theory that the standard bonnet scoop becomes useless after the 100mph mark, so prolonged high speed runs will obviously be a bad idea, resulting in knock.

Then there's the lack of mapping with bolt on mods, again knock being the issue.

There are a few more 'commonly known' reasons, but I can't think of them off the top of my head because it's been a while since I owned a Subaru and had it tuned, therefore I haven't had to think about them recently.

Would have total confidence with a car mapped by the likes of Andy Forrest though, if all the supporting mods were sound. Just my opinion though as I haven't been stung with engine failure.

B16 Will

Mixed views then, thanks for all the sound advise. Id also herd about the scoop thing, people who litteraly knock the bottom end out crusing at 120mph, im swaying towards a standard car or one with the right bolt ons. Its the 3dr, blue paint and body styling that does it for me, the pic looks like a tidy one.

Alan_D

Remember that if it has bolt-on mods you should make sure it's been mapped for them.

Also think you can get Type Rs in that colour, although I'm not sure.

vroooom ptssssh

Yea heard of those theorys, you'd think subaru would hold their cars flat out, long enough to test things like that though it seems a bit of a schoolboy error for such a huge company to make.

unless your connecting det to seized bearings which some people do though, thats besides the point.

As I said before, Until someone can prove why SOME engines seize bearings, I wouldnt buy a subaru....

KSA-Cossie

iTrader: (4)

Don't the type-r's come with more goodies as standard too m8 ?

Ginge !

ive heard the scoop theory,,,,,, though i have held my scooby flat out alot,,, with witnesses ( and others trying to keep up too) and i seem to have been fortunate though i have never had the standard bonnet,,,,,, but ive done 300ish miles flat out in the car with the old bonnet,,,, waving about which is freeky and most of that was 130 and 140,,,, i NEVER went below 120 apart from stoping for 2 fuel stops

infact the only issue ive had with my V3 STI is 1 radiator and now a shattered gearbox and it was used as a daily driver,,, even with a suspected fucked box for the last 10k miles

Bg_rs

Great cars miss mine loads. The P1 is a jap type-r modified by prodrive for the uk market.




As mentioned above check service history and HPI etc, another thing to check for is how often the MAF has been changed.

Sign up on the P1 web owners club some very helpful people on there and you'll also be able to see what cars are forsale.

p.cressie

^^^^^^^

Stunning

JK99

I'm an owner of a V4 Type R (albeit with a few V5 bits) and it's been spot-on for 2 years now.

Haven't got a clue what some folk are talking about, never heard of a bottom end seizing on them that's been built properly. If folk are stupid enough to run them dry of oil or re-use an oil-pump that is prone to failure - Subaru, Ford, Honda etc etc.

As I said, I've had mine for 2 years and it's on a fresh standard engine. Was rebuilt prior to me getting it at 66k miles and it was a faulty fuel pump that caused the failure so I was told. Wasn't too interested as I was buying it with a freshly built lump and everything else had been sorted too.

For the money, I think you'd struggle to find something better on the smiles per gallon front and I would say go for the Type R over the P1 everytime. Stronger rear diff, adjustable centre diff, better rear brakes, close ratio box etc etc. Only thing I'd want out of a P1 is the 5th gear - 3.5k RPM @ 70mph with a 3" Titanium system is loud!!

Here's a few pics of mine to help you along:

Alan_D

Not sure about what the P1s have compared to the Type Rs, but the Jap cars are usually better equiped than the UK models!

I had a UK car though, loved it for what it was. Drove it between Lanark and Aberdeen a good few times, in snow and shitty cold weather and it never batted an eyelid the whole year and a half I owned it. Was brilliant. Only thing I would be concerned about with a Classic Scoob would be the drivetrain, which is notoriously soft, but I just avoided launching mine in the dry.

Newage Stis have the opposite: their standard diffs, gearbox, etc, are almost over-engineered, and seem to be good for around 500bhp from what I've heard.

PT

and me

KSA-Cossie

iTrader: (4)

Whats the difference between v5 and v6 just cosmetics ?

JK99

Small change to the engine layout to rectify a problem the V5s had and small cosmetic changes. Most of the changes were as a result of these being the last of the line before becoming the Bug-Eye which I hated but have grown to like.

StephTell

I had a 'normal' Impreza turbo, upgraded it with MD42 turbo, Walbro fuelpump, blueflame 3" decat exhaust and had it remapped.

Drove it like an arsehole everywhere I went and it never missed a beat.
Reasonably quick as well!

Easy to drift as well

andy888

had 2 of these now. top one cost me Ł14.5k a few years ago, bottom one was just over 6k a couple years back. brilliant cars out the box. dont listen to any rumours about how to stop them blowing up etc in my experience its pot luck. my fisrt one (top one) i bought with 48k on it and it had blown up at 38k. my second one i bought with 94k on it and it blew up at 107k. it was remapped from new with an uprated pump etc in it. i ran a top spec oil in them both and changed it every 5k.

my pal owns one and it gets hammered day in day out and hadsnt seen fresh oil in 25k miles and is still going the best. i really think its pot luck but one thing i would advise is DONT buy one then drive about in it worrying if its gonna blow! buy it and rag it!

i wouldnt say it matters about the rebuild etc my last one got done reasonably cheap with a new STI9 nitrile coated crank etc. it also burned out an exhaust valve.

i fell in love with the styling of the P1 and would have another tomorrow. can be had for 5k now but obviouslt you get what you pay for! 18s and the alcons are a good option on them too. standard brakes are sh*te!

andy

JK99

Top one is stunning mate, got all the right bits on it.

Would disagree about the standard brakes tho - DBA discs, Endless pads, hoses and good fluid and they're spot-on. Maybe not for track days etc but more than enough for the road.

Joel

andy888

aye a had endless problems with the standard 4 pots on my 2nd P1 mate. so chucked them in the bin and stuck a full set of gold brembos on. they werent as good as they looked though a would say the alcons were miles better in every way!

ye the top one was nice, the things you need to do to get a house

cozzy940

yes mate type r's def way to go has adjustable dccd so power can be split 50-50 / upto 70% to the rear and as said stronger rear diff better chassis, these dont come with abs, p1 has uk spec 5th gear, alot more car for your money with the type r

KSA-Cossie

iTrader: (4)

Very nice p1 m8,but,would still have a type-r .

andy888

ye ma pals got the typeR one its a cracking car too. it blew up not so long ago as well. i just think its your donald duck. just enjoy them.

vroooom ptssssh

Who said any were run dry with used oil pumps or being built incorrectly? LOL

just cos you've never heard of it, doesnt mean it doesnt happen...

Or maybe I'm just imagining it all happen infront of my own eyes...


FEW cars do it, NOT EVERY ONE.

NEIL A

iTrader: (6)

I had wrx years ago and loved it , only did a clutch in the 2 years i owned it. My mate also had a lightly modded uk , while working in Germany he put 50K trouble free miles on it in a year and a half including loads of autoban runs.

JK99

Never said you did, was just trying to explain how engines can seize like you described.

I honestly can't see how they can do this if they've been built properly and the owner isn't a complete mong - especially when you sounded like you were talking about fresh builds.

What I said about Oil Pumps could be a reason - they're known for failing but you'd hear knocking long before an engine just locked up. If you ignored that then yes, they could seize but you'd have to be epically stupid to let it get to that stage.

OP - Buy a Type R with a rebuild under it's belt and a Map by God and you'll be grinning like a retard in a car with flavoured windows.

Alan_D

I think we've got to the source of the problems in this thread.

JK99

LOL!

JK99

Looking at this post, is it only us Scottish cunts that own or have owned these motors..........well, all except Vroom.

Maybe it's so fuckin cold we've got nothin else to do!

Alan_D

Haha, quite a lot of folk up here have had them. Pretty good on the shitty greasy roads in the winter!